3 Great Ideas from an Affordable Net-Zero House

Eric Thomas' home in Seattle, Wash., uses a few clever ideas to produce more energy than it uses.

In a recent post, we looked inside "Canada's Greenest Home," which is an amazing place with one shortcoming: With a $600,000-plus price tag, it was comparatively expensive to build. If the story ended there, you might think there is no way you could afford to build an awesome environmentally sustainable house. You"d be wrong, as is evidenced by the story of Eric Thomas and his wife, Alex, who built a true net-zero home in Seattle for the bargain basement price of $125 per square foot, or a little under $250,000.

What is a net-zero home. If done properly, it will produce at least as much energy as it uses, usually by way of solar panels. Proving that the numbers do indeed add up, Eric posted a blog post detailing 12 months of energy bills, which resulted in a $230 credit after the utility bought back power produced by the house. How cool is that?

Aside from the obvious benefits of a net-zero house, here are a few of the home's sustainable concepts that I found particularly interesting.

Floor Heat-Pump

PEX tubing in the main slab (on-grade) is connected to the air-source heat pump, which heats water running through the tubes order to warm the floor and the living space. This also makes it viable to use the concrete (stained for looks) as the finished floor.

Great-Looking Rain Barrels

Oak rain barrels seen in the image at the top collect rainwater from the roof and store it for non-potable water needs, such as watering plants. The rustic wood columns supporting the porch roof add a woodsy charm. The siding is HardiePlank fiber-cement siding.

Wash Your Hands in The Toilet (Sink) When You"re Done

Every time I think I've seen every remodeling and construction ideas, along comes something new. The special lid on the toilet tank includes a cold-water sink and faucet that turns on when the toilet is flushed. Rinse your hands off in the sink, and the water continues into the toilets tank through a drain. Brilliant—though it would take a little getting used to.

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